Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul / Essential to life, water is present in almost all human activities, mainly in the consumption of drinking water and agricultural activities. Considering that the world population has increased enormously, food production must be increased and this need has encouraged cooperatives and producers to seek alternative techniques to improve productivity and reduce costs. In this context, the addition of hydrogels on the ground, optimizes the availability of water due to its large storage capacity, accelerating the development of the root system and aerial part of the plant. Most hydrogels is done based on polyacrylamide polymer of acrylamide (AM) monomer which is in the form odorless and white colored water soluble and highly toxic. The damaging effects of AM, which has carcinogenic risk and endocrine disrupter in living beings are known for over 30 years. In soil, acrylamide has a high time to be degraded and due to leaching, the monomer can be found in aquatic environments. Due to its toxicity, acrylamide in a concentration of 5.88 mg / L-1 restates the EC50 microalgae Chlorophyceae Desmodesmus quadricauda (Turpin) Brébisson. In addition to the influence of pollution, various abiotic factors such as temperature and pH, interfere with aquatic communities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of acrylamide in predetermined concentration with changes in temperature (24 ° C and 17 ° C) and pH variation on physiological parameters of microalgae D. quadricauda. The green algae were grown in Water Culture (WC) with its exposed cells in exponential growth phase for a period of 72 hours at concentrations of 5.88 mg l-1 of acrylamide, pH values ranging from 5, 6, 7 and 8. Periodic samples counts were performed under the microscope, in which it took into account the phenotypic plasticity and cellular measures, the biovolume and cell density. When comparing this study with acrylamide EC50 obtained in a previous study, the results indicated at low temperatures (17 ° C) the toxicity of acrylamide and decreased at high temperatures (24 ° C) increased, not having the pH interfered in this parameter. Analyzing cellular measures of width and length, results were significant with the control of pH 8 and temperature 15 ° C, as in biovolume values where only the variation of pH shows variation among the tested controls and treatments. Phenotypic gender plasticity shows that when analyzing the groups separately for periods of 24, 48 and 72 hours, although no significant differences, most phenotypic change was found in the monasteries of a cell that prevailed most in the group treated with acrylamide and pH change in almost all periods. Therefore, the concentration of acrylamide in this test along with changes in temperature and pH tested, indicating that the toxicity of the substance changes the parameters tested in microalgae, becoming a risk to aquatic communities exposed to acrylamide. / Essencial à vida, a água está presente em quase todas as atividades humanas, principalmente no consumo de água potável e em atividades agrícolas. Tendo em vista que a população mundial vem aumentando enormemente, a produção de alimentos tem de ser aumentada sendo que esta necessidade tem-se estimulado cooperativas e produtores a buscarem técnicas alternativas para a melhoria da produtividade e redução de custos. Neste contexto, a adição de hidrogéis no solo, otimiza a disponibilidade de água , devido à sua grande capacidade de armazenamento, acelerando o desenvolvimento do sistema radicular e da parte aérea das plantas. A maioria dos hidrogeis é feito à base de poliacrilamida, polímero da acrilamida (AM), monômero que se apresenta na forma inodora e de coloração branca, solúvel em água e altamente tóxica. Os efeitos prejudiciais da AM, que apresenta risco carcinogênico e desregulador endócrino nos seres vivos, são conhecidos há mais de 30 anos. No solo, a acrilamida apresenta um elevado período para ser degradada e devido a lixiviação, o monômero pode ser encontrada em ambientes aquáticos. Devido a sua toxicidade, a acrilamida em concentração de 5,88 mg/L-1 reapresenta a EC50 de microalgas clorofíceas Desmodesmus quadricauda (Turpin) Brébisson. Além da influencia da poluição, vários fatores abióticos como temperatura e pH, interferem nas comunidades aquáticas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos tóxicos da acrilamida em concentração pré-estabelecida juntamente com alterações de temperatura (24 ºC e 17 ºC) e variação de pH sobre parâmetros fisiológicos da microalga D. quadricauda . As clorofíceas foram cultivadas em meio Water Culture (WC), com suas células em fase exponencial exposta por um período de 72 horas a concentração de 5,88 mg.L-1 de acrilamida, valores de pH que variaram de 5, 6, 7 e 8. Amostras periódicas foram realizadas contagens ao microscópio, em que se levou em consideração a plasticidade fenotípica e medidas celulares, o biovolume e densidade celular. Ao comparar este estudo com a EC50 da acrilamida obtido em estudo prévio, os resultados indicaram que a 17 ºC a toxicidade da acrilamida diminuiu e em temperaturas a 24 ºC aumentou, não tendo o pH interferido neste parâmetro. Analisando as medidas celulares de largura e comprimento, resultados foram significativos com o controle de pH8 e com temperatura a 15ºC, assim como nos valores do biovolume, onde a variação apenas do pH apresenta variação entre os controles e tratamentos testados. A plasticidade fenotípica do gênero aponta que ao analisar os grupos separadamente nos períodos de 24, 48 e 72 horas, que apesar de não haver diferenças significativas, maior alteração fenotípica foi encontrada nos cenóbios de uma célula, que prevaleceu maior no grupo tratado com acrilamida e alteração de pH em praticamente todos os períodos. Portanto, a concentração de acrilamida presente nos ensaios juntamente com alterações de temperatura e pH testadas, indica que a toxicidade da substância altera os parâmetros testados na microalga, se tornando um risco às comunidades aquáticas se expostas a acrilamida.

iv ABSTRACT Benthic diatoms are due to a number of positive characteristics (such as high abundances, diversified communities, sensitive responses to environmental conditions, capturing long-term changes in the environmental conditions) currently the most commonly used bioindicators of the ecological status of freshwater ecosystems. However, due to problems associated with the use of traditional methods based on species composition (time-consuming identification, presence of species complexes, and requirements for calibration of water quality indexes for geographical regions) searching for alternative methods has been induced. The monitoring of the size structure of diverse diatom communities has been proposed as one of the methods. This approach would mainly eliminate the necessity of time-consuming determination of species. The main purpose of this thesis was therefore to determine the relationship between the size structure of benthic diatom communities, expressed as the relative biovolume, and selected environmental factors (pH, conductivity, habitat type) within freshwater lentic habitats. Furthermore, the variability of biovolume in dependence on environmental variables was compared with the change in species composition. If there would be a similar response pattern of both the biovolume and species...

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Acrylamide is a water soluble monomer with a multitude of industrial and chemical applications. In polymeric form, which is also known as polyacrylamide, it may be used as a flocculant for water treatment. However, this monomer presents carcinogenic risk and it can cause changes in the endocrine system of living beings, it is also called endocrine disrupter. On the Ordinance of the Ministry of Health 2914/2011, it was established a maximum limit of 0.5 micrograms/L acrylamide for drinking water. However, there is no evidence in the literature on the detection of acrylamide in the drinking water. Thus, the study of the behavior of acrylamide as an environmental contaminant and carcinogen is of a great value to the public health. Thus, the main objective of this study was the analysis of the expected changes toxicology of acrylamide in different concentrations, using green algae as indicator organisms. The study was conducted through the following steps: (I) The structure of a study methodology, based on the references that are available and adapted for a consistent routine of work with the good laboratory conditions of the institution; (II) the performance of the ecotoxicological tests with algae, which are treated with polyacrylamide solution used in the municipality of Santa Maria Water Treatment Station - RS; (III) the performance of ecotoxicological tests with algae, treated with different concentrations of acrylamide; (Iv) the calculation of the sample cell biovolume (V) the analysis of chlorophyll "a" and (VI)the statistical analysis of the results and interpretation of the data of the research. The experiments were performed in the laboratory of sanitation- Lasam, from the Federal University of Santa Maria - UFSM from February to August 2014. The results demonstrated that it was possible to develop the ecotoxicological study with polyacrylamide, because it is a commercial substance that has no analytical purity, which led to no regular results, making it impossible to reproduce the tests. However, in the ecotoxicological analysis of acrylamide, the acrylamide results indicated that significantly inhibited the growth of algae, yielding 5.88 mg/L-1 as the concentration which inhibited 50% of the growth of the algal cells. Both the microscopic cell counting as the dosage of chlorophyll "a" was effective in the experimental biomass quantification. The most important outcome of the work consist in assessing changes in cell biovolume and phenotypic plasticity of the species D. quadricauda unprecedentedly parameters evaluated for exposure to acrylamide. The use of calculation of biovolume combined with cell counts proved quite useful for analyzing the results, showing the variation in cell size during the experiment. Phenotypic plasticity of gender has changed with exposure to acrylamide, which gives an important finding in the evaluation of toxicity. / A acrilamida é um monômero solúvel em água com uma infinidade de aplicações químicas e industriais. Na forma polimérica, também denominada de poliacrilamida, pode ser utilizada como floculante para o tratamento de água. Entretanto, esse monômero apresenta risco carcinogênico e causa alterações no sistema endócrino dos seres vivos, também denominado de desregulador endócrino. A Portaria do Ministério da Saúde 2914/2011 estabelece um limite máximo de 0,5 micrograma/L de acrilamida para água potável. Contudo, não há evidências na literatura sobre a detecção da acrilamida nas águas para consumo humano. Assim, o estudo do comportamento da acrilamida como um contaminante ambiental é de grande valia para a saúde pública. Desta forma, o objetivo principal deste estudo consistiu na análise das alterações toxicológicas esperadas da acrilamida, em distintas concentrações utilizando uma clorofícea como organismo indicador. O estudo foi realizado mediante as seguintes etapas: (I) Estruturação de uma metodologia de estudo, baseada nas referências bibliográficas disponíveis e adaptada para uma rotina de trabalho condizente com as condições laboratoriais da instituição; (II) Realização de ensaios ecotoxicológicos com algas, tratadas com solução de poliacrilamida utilizada na Estação de Tratamento de Água do município de Santa Maria RS; (III) Realização de ensaios ecotoxicológicos com algas, tratadas com distintas concentrações de acrilamida; (IV) Cálculo do biovolume celular das amostras; (V) Análise da concentração de clorofila a ; (VI) Análise da Plasticidade Fenotípica, (VII) Análise estatística dos resultados obtidos e interpretação dos dados. Os experimentos foram realizados no laboratório de engenharia do meio ambiente- LEMA, da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria UFSM, durante o período de fevereiro a agosto de 2014. Os resultados demonstraram que não foi possível desenvolver o estudo ecotoxicológico com a poliacrilamida, pelo fato de se tratar de uma substância comercial, que não possui pureza analítica, o que levou a resultados irregulares, tornando impossível a reprodução dos ensaios. Porém, na análise ecotoxicológica da acrilamida, os resultados indicaram que esta inibiu significativamente o crescimento das algas, obtendo-se 5,88 mg.L-1 como a concentração que inibiu 50% do crescimento das células algais. Tanto a contagem celular microscópica como a dosagem da clorofila a se mostraram eficientes na quantificação da biomassa do experimento. Os resultados mais importantes do trabalho consistem na análise das alterações do biovolume celular e da plasticidade fenotípica da espécie D. quadricauda, parâmetros ineditamente avaliados para a exposição à acrilamida. A utilização do cálculo do biovolume aliado à contagem celular se mostrou bastante proveitosa na análise dos resultados, demonstrando a variação do tamanho das células no decorrer do experimento. A plasticidade fenotípica do gênero sofreu alterações com a exposição à acrilamida, o que confere um achado importante na avaliação da toxicidade.

No description available.

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors have been shown to be potential vectors for the treatment of diseases, including protocols using RNA interference (RNAi). AAV vector production in insect cells using the baculovirus vector expression system has been a major advance in furthering their use. A major limitation of AAV vector production at high cell densities is a reduction in cell specific yield, which is thought to be caused by nutrient limitations. Nutrient consumption profiles after infection, however, have still not been fully characterized, probably due to the difficulty of characterizing consumption patterns based on increases in cell density, which are minimal after infection. It is known, however, that cells increase in size after infection; therefore, the driving hypothesis of this thesis was that biovolume, or the total volume enclosed by the membrane of viable cells, which accounts for both cell density and cell size, could be used to characterize nutrient consumption patterns both before and after infection. The relationships between nutrient consumption and change in cell density and biovolume were examined by statistical correlation analysis. It was found that in uninfected cultures, no significant correlation differences, using either cell density or biovolume, were observed since cell size remained relatively constant; however, in infected cultures, more than half of the nutrients were found to be better correlated with biovolume than with cell density. When examining the nutrient and metabolite concentration data on a biovolume basis, nutrient consumption remained relatively constant. It is hypothesized that since it has been reported that the rate of cell respiration increases after infection, a more complete oxidation of nutrients occurs to satisfy increased energy needs during infection. By having a basis to base nutrient consumption, we can better assess the needs of the culture. This will allow the development of feeding strategies based on cellular requirements instead of supplying the cultures with generic nutrient cocktails. It is expected that different nutrient mixtures can be used to target different goals such as 1) enhancing cell growth (before infection) and 2) improving the production of recombinant products (after infection). This will not only increase the efficiency of AAV vector production, but will also reduce the cost of production and make the process more economical by eliminating the addition of unnecessary nutrients. Although promising, some limitations of using biovolume still exist. A first limitation is the biovolume measure itself. This measure requires a device that measures cell size, such as a Coulter Counter Multisizer (Beckman-Coulter, Miami, FL, USA), which can be expensive. Capacitance probes can be a more cost effective tool to estimate biovolume; however, the availability of capacitance probes is still not common. A second limitation is the interpretation of the biovolume profiles, which can depend strongly on the fraction of cells in culture that are infected. If the culture is infected asynchronously, then there will be many different cell populations in the culture. Future work may require separating the cell size distribution into populations of viable and non-viable cells to get a better biovolume measure as opposed to assuming that viability is well distributed over the entire range of cell sizes. In infected cultures where the viability may be low, it is likely that the cell size distribution of non-viable cells will be concentrated at the lower end of the distribution (smaller diameter) rather than being well distributed over the whole range. If this is the case, for the infected cultures with low viability, the mean cell diameter calculated will be underestimated, which will lead to an overestimation of nutrient consumption for cultures with low viability. This will certainly affect the accuracy of the nutrient consumption profiles. By separating cell size distribution data into different cell populations of viable and nonviable, the accuracy can be improved.

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors have been shown to be potential vectors for the treatment of diseases, including protocols using RNA interference (RNAi). AAV vector production in insect cells using the baculovirus vector expression system has been a major advance in furthering their use. A major limitation of AAV vector production at high cell densities is a reduction in cell specific yield, which is thought to be caused by nutrient limitations. Nutrient consumption profiles after infection, however, have still not been fully characterized, probably due to the difficulty of characterizing consumption patterns based on increases in cell density, which are minimal after infection. It is known, however, that cells increase in size after infection; therefore, the driving hypothesis of this thesis was that biovolume, or the total volume enclosed by the membrane of viable cells, which accounts for both cell density and cell size, could be used to characterize nutrient consumption patterns both before and after infection. The relationships between nutrient consumption and change in cell density and biovolume were examined by statistical correlation analysis. It was found that in uninfected cultures, no significant correlation differences, using either cell density or biovolume, were observed since cell size remained relatively constant; however, in infected cultures, more than half of the nutrients were found to be better correlated with biovolume than with cell density. When examining the nutrient and metabolite concentration data on a biovolume basis, nutrient consumption remained relatively constant. It is hypothesized that since it has been reported that the rate of cell respiration increases after infection, a more complete oxidation of nutrients occurs to satisfy increased energy needs during infection. By having a basis to base nutrient consumption, we can better assess the needs of the culture. This will allow the development of feeding strategies based on cellular requirements instead of supplying the cultures with generic nutrient cocktails. It is expected that different nutrient mixtures can be used to target different goals such as 1) enhancing cell growth (before infection) and 2) improving the production of recombinant products (after infection). This will not only increase the efficiency of AAV vector production, but will also reduce the cost of production and make the process more economical by eliminating the addition of unnecessary nutrients. Although promising, some limitations of using biovolume still exist. A first limitation is the biovolume measure itself. This measure requires a device that measures cell size, such as a Coulter Counter Multisizer (Beckman-Coulter, Miami, FL, USA), which can be expensive. Capacitance probes can be a more cost effective tool to estimate biovolume; however, the availability of capacitance probes is still not common. A second limitation is the interpretation of the biovolume profiles, which can depend strongly on the fraction of cells in culture that are infected. If the culture is infected asynchronously, then there will be many different cell populations in the culture. Future work may require separating the cell size distribution into populations of viable and non-viable cells to get a better biovolume measure as opposed to assuming that viability is well distributed over the entire range of cell sizes. In infected cultures where the viability may be low, it is likely that the cell size distribution of non-viable cells will be concentrated at the lower end of the distribution (smaller diameter) rather than being well distributed over the whole range. If this is the case, for the infected cultures with low viability, the mean cell diameter calculated will be underestimated, which will lead to an overestimation of nutrient consumption for cultures with low viability. This will certainly affect the accuracy of the nutrient consumption profiles. By separating cell size distribution data into different cell populations of viable and nonviable, the accuracy can be improved.

Submitted by Natalia de Souza Gonçalves (natalia.goncalves@ufpe.br) on 2016-09-19T14:40:59Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DESCRITORES DA QUALIDADE AMBIENTAL DO SISTEMA ESTUARINO DO RECIFE (PE) O PAPEL DO FITOPLÂNCTON.pdf: 2208267 bytes, checksum: c2b5f36208eafe2193b88e29c8e6fc13 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-19T14:40:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DESCRITORES DA QUALIDADE AMBIENTAL DO SISTEMA ESTUARINO DO RECIFE (PE) O PAPEL DO FITOPLÂNCTON.pdf: 2208267 bytes, checksum: c2b5f36208eafe2193b88e29c8e6fc13 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-16 / CAPES / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo caracterizar os descritores do fitoplâncton no Sistema Estuarino do Recife (PE) e determinar os fatores que contribuem para as flutuações sazonais e espaciais dos grupos funcionais. As amostragens foram feitas em três pontos fixos (P1, Bacia Portuária; P2, estuário do rio Beberibe; P3, estuário do rio Capibaribe) nos período chuvoso e de estiagem de 2010, 2011 e 2012, durante as baixa-mares e preamares. A temperatura, transparência da água e profundidade foram medidos in situ, enquanto a salinidade, potencial hidrogeniônico (pH), material particulado em suspensão (MPS), oxigênio dissolvido (OD), demanda bioquímica do oxigênio (DBO5) e sais nutrientes foram coletados com garrafa Kitahara e analisados no Laboratório de Oceanografia Química da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Para coleta do plâncton, foram utilizados dois tipos de amostradores (rede de plâncton com 45 e 64 μm de abertura de malha e garrafa Kitahara). As amostras para o estudo qualitativo foram fixadas com formol a 4%, enquanto para o estudo quantitativo foram fixadas com lugol a 2% e posteriormente analisadas no Laboratório de Fitoplâncton da UFPE. A partir destas amostras foram determinados a riqueza específica, clorofila a, biovolume celular, biomassa em carbono, densidade fitoplanctônica e os grupos funcionais foram determinados. A temperatura, salinidade, OD e fosfato apresentaram variação sazonal significativa. A variação sazonal indicou que a profundidade, MPS e os nutrientes foram elevados no período chuvoso enquanto transparência, temperatura, salinidade, OD e pH no período de estiagem. A clorofila a variou de 2,4 a 60,77 mg.m-3. Foram identificados 226 táxons fitoplanctônicos, tendo sido o período chuvoso quantitativamente e qualitativamente mais rico em decorrência da variabilidade hidroclimática. A densidade celular oscilou entre 46.667 e 723.333 cél.L-1, com maiores valores no período chuvoso. Os táxons descritores foram Planktothrix agardhii, Planktothrix isothrix, Bellerochea malleus, Cyclotella sp., Cylindrotheca closterium, Coscinodiscus sp. e Nitzschia longissima. O biovolume celular variou sazonalmente de 0,2 a 213,9 mm3 L-1, enquanto a biomassa em carbono de 0,07 a 93,62 pgC L-1. Os principais produtores nos estuários estudados foram Planktothrix isothrix, Oscillatoria sp. (período chuvoso) e Coscinodiscus sp. (período de estiagem). Foram registrados 17 grupos funcionais (A, C, D, P, MP, I, II, III, VI, J, TD, H1, LO, SN, S1, S2, F), dos quais, H1, S2, C e III caracterizaram o período chuvoso, enquanto I, II e F caracterizaram o período de estiagem, com o predomínio dos relacionados a ambientes eutróficos, rasos e de águas turvas. Os grupos H1 e I (P1), S2, II e III (P2) e C (P3) foram exclusivos para cada estuário. A precipitação pluviométrica e as marés influenciaram a abundância e a distribuição destes grupos e condicionaram as maiores densidades algais registradas. A utilização dos grupos funcionais, do biovolume e da biomassa em carbono demonstrou que são ferramentas válidas e eficientes para serem utilizadas em estuários tropicais. Com base na distribuição sazonal do fitoplâncton no presente estudo, sugere-se o monitoramento periódico do Sistema Estuarino do Recife, para constatar o efeito das variáveis ambientais sobre o fitoplâncton em longo prazo, bem como para o conhecimento da dinâmica das cianobactérias Planktotkrix agardhii e Planktothrix isothrix, devido ao potencial tóxico dessas espécies. / This study aimed to characterize phytoplankton descriptors in the Estuarine System of Recife (PE) and determine the factors that contribute to seasonal and spatial fluctuations of the functional groups. Samples were collected in three fixed points (P1, Port Basin; P2, Beberibe River estuary; P3, Capibaribe River estuary) in rainy and dry seasons 2010, 2011 and 2012, during the low and high tide. Temperature, water transparency and depth were measured in situ, while salinity, hydrogenionic potential (pH), suspended particulate matter (SMP), dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen dissolved (BOD5) and nutrients were collected with a Kitahara bottle and analyzed at the Chemical Oceanography Laboratory of Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. To collect the plankton, two types of samplers were used (plankton net with 45 and 64 μm of mesh opening and Kitahara bottle). Samples for the qualitative study were fixed with 4% formaldehyde, while for the quantitative study were fixed with 2% lugol and posteriorly analyzed at the Phytoplankton Laboratory of UFPE. From these samples were determined the species richness, chlorophyll a, cell biovolume, carbon biomass, phytoplankton density and the functional groups were determined. The temperature, salinity, DO and phosphate showed significant seasonal variation. The seasonal variation indicated that the depth, SPM and nutrients were high in the rainy season and transparency, temperature, salinity, DO and pH in the dry season. The chlorophyll a varied between 2.4 to 60.77 mg.m-3. 226 phytoplankton taxa were identified, being the rainy season qualitatively and quantitatively richer as result of the hydroclimatic variability. The cell density varied between 46.667 and 723.333 cells.L-1, with highest values in rainy season The descriptors taxa were Planktothrix agardhii, Planktothrix isothrix, Bellerochea malleus, Cyclotella sp., Cylindrotheca closterium, Coscinodiscus sp. and Nitzschia longissima. The cell biovolume ranged from 0.2 to 213.9 mm3 L-1, while the carbon biomass from 0.07 to 93.62 pgC L-1. The main producers in the studied estuaries were Planktothrix isothrix, Oscillatoria sp. (rainy season) and Coscinodiscus sp. (dry season). 17 functional groups were recorded (A, C, D, P, MP, I, II, III, VI, J, TD, H1, LO, SN, S1, S2, F), of which, H1, S2, C and III characterized the rainy season, while I, II and F characterized the dry season, with the predominance of related to eutrophic, shallow and muddy water environments. The groups H1 and I (P1), S2, II and III (P2) and C (P3) were unique to each estuary. The rainfall and the tides influenced the abundance and distribution of these groups, hindered the establishment of blooms and conditioned the largest algal densities recorded. The use of functional associations, biovolume and biomass carbon showed that they are valid and efficient tools for use in tropical estuaries. Based on the seasonal distribution of phytoplankton in the present study, it is suggested the periodic monitoring of the Estuarine System of Recife to observe the effect of environmental variables on phytoplankton long-term, as well as for understanding the dynamics of cyanobacteria Planktotkrix agardhii and Planktothrix isothrix due to the toxic potential of these species.

No description available.

The aim of this diploma thesis was to describe species composition and biomass of phytoplankton in the Tatra Mountains lakes (Slovakia, Poland) and environmental factors influencing them. The surface layer of 89 lakes was sampled in September 2004. Flagellates from Chrysophyta, Dinophyta and Cryptophyta most frequently dominated the phytoplankton biomass. Lake in the same valley usually differed in their dominant taxonomic group as a result of different lake morphometry, catchment type and detailed geological structure. Based on the level of phytoplankton biovolume, the majority of lakes were ultraoligotrophic and oligotrophic, however, mesotrophic and even eutrophic conditions were recorded in some forest and meadow lakes. An allometric relationship between phytoplankton biomass and chlorophyll a was revealed. Specific chlorophyll content did not differ among taxonomic groups. Altogether 233 species were determined, the most diverse group were Chlorophyta. Species richness of lake was 3-46 and it was negatively correlated with altitude and positively correlated with lake area. The majority of species were rare both in term of biomass and number of lakes occupied by a particular species. Average local species biomass was positively correlated with regional distribution. The similarity of species...